maribus
Press release
Hamburg, 20 April 2011
Page 1/2
Presentation of the »World Ocean Review«
in the European Parliament in Brussels
Within the framework of an event organized by the Seas and Coastal Areas Intergroup on April 19th
2011, the »World Ocean Review« (WOR) was presented to the European Parliament in Brussels.
In their opening remarks at the beginning of the two hour presentation, the EU Commissioner for Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, and Dr. Awni Behnam, Assistant Secretary General of the United
Nations, referred to the uniqueness of this publication and expressed their conviction, that the WOR, in the
same way as the IPCC Report, has initiated discussion on climate change – and that thus finally the oceans
and our interaction with them will be shifted into the public focus.
»I believe that this report will stimulate and underpin debate on the oceans in the same way that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments stimulate debate on the climate. I look forward to listening to and joining in these debates.
I look forward to a time when the way we treat oceans - and the way we treat our fish - are as high on the
political agenda and in the public debate as climate change is today. I look forward to the day that politicians
treat the ocean in the same multidisciplinary way that you have treated the science of oceans. We must adopt
a long-stretching vision. We must make the 21st century a time of renewal. And we can.«
Maria Damanaki
»I had the honor two weeks ago to present this review to the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban
Kimoon, to the Executive Secretary of the Secretary General High Level Panel on Global Sustainability, Mr.
Janos Pasztor, and to the Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Mr. Tarssenko.
Like you, Madam commissioner, I am convinced that this report will stimulate an informed debate and we
hope it will lead to action in the manner that the IPCC report did in relation to climate change.«
Dr. Awni Behnam
Nikolaus Gelpke, initiator of the »World Ocean Review« (WOR) and publisher of the mareverlag, and Prof.
Martin Visbeck, Speaker of the Kiel Cluster of Excellence »Future Ocean«, which was decisively engaged in
producing the WOR, explained the background and the genesis of the project and summarized the scientific
findings of the individual research areas, which the WOR covers. Questions on the interaction of climate and
ocean and the scientific basis of overfishing and the current fisheries policies were addressed in the talks by
Prof. Mojib Latif and Prof. Martin Quaas. The event was moderated by Isabella Lövin, MEP and Vice President of the Seas and Coastal Areas Intergroup.
maribus gGmbH, Sandthorquaihof, Pickhuben 2, 20457 Hamburg
Telefon +49 (0) 40 369 859-0, Fax +49 (0) 40 369 859-90, -99, www.maribus.com
AG Hamburg Nr. B 104082, ST-NR.: 17/450/06619, Geschäftsführer: Nikolaus Gelpke
maribus
Press release
Hamburg, 20 April 2011
Page 2/2
The World Ocean Review is not for sale, but is being distributed for free. It can be accessed online at www.
worldoceanreview.com . The publication is available in English and German.
---World Ocean Review, published by maribus gGmbH, Hamburg 2010, 236 pages, with numerous illustrations
and photographs, paperback.
Links: www.worldoceanreview.com, www.mare.de, www.ozean-der-zukunft.de
Contact maribus gGmbH:
maribus gGmbH
Stephanie Haack
Publicity
Pickhuben 2
20457 Hamburg
Phone: 0049-40-368076-22
E-Mail: [email protected]
Contact »Future Ocean«:
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Cluster of Excellence »Future Ocean«
Dr. Anke Feiler-Kramer
PR-Management
Phone: 0049-431-880-3032
E-Mail: [email protected]
maribus gGmbH, Sandthorquaihof, Pickhuben 2, 20457 Hamburg
Telefon +49 (0) 40 369 859-0, Fax +49 (0) 40 369 859-90, -99, www.maribus.com
AG Hamburg Nr. B 104082, ST-NR.: 17/450/06619, Geschäftsführer: Nikolaus Gelpke